1. Discuss the pros and cons for Britain's joining the EMU.
2. Commentators pointed to the fact that many people in Britain have variable rate mortgages, as opposed to the fixed-rate mortgages more common in Europe. Britain also has the most flexible labor markets in Europe. How would these factors likely affect Britain's economic costs and benefits of adopting the euro?
3. What types of British companies would most likely benefit from joining EMU?
4. Some large multinationals warned that they only chose to invest in Britain on the assumption it would ultimately adopt the euro. Why would multinationals be interested in Britain adopting the euro?

The interminable debate in Britain over whether to join the European Monetary Union reached a fever pitch in early 2003. That was when Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown had promised to make his recommendation to Prime Minister Tony Blair as to whether economic conditions were such as to warrant the move. Although Prime Minister Blair was likely to accept Chancellor Brown's judgment, he also had to pay attention to the intense debate over the euro. This debate went way beyond party lines, splitting political parties and raising passions in a way few other issues do. Business was similarly divided over the merits of EMU. The economy, and how it could be affected by adopting the euro, was central to this debate.